Is there anything cooler than making your own story? How about getting that story published? For Xiaoyuan Qu, a teacher at Sierra Madre Middle School, creating stories is how she engages her students in both Mandarin and Social Studies. Using the online service StoryJumper, Xiaoyuan’s students were able to craft both an ebook and eventually physical copies of their own stories.
Xiaoyuan split her 64 students into teams of 27. Students collaborated to research, write, and illustrate their digital ebooks on Ancient Israel and Ancient China. Students had to write and revise their stories entirely in Mandarin, strengthening both their skills and understanding of the language.
“This project met the objective of increasing student engagement through creative expression, meaningful collaboration, and real-world application of historical knowledge.”
– Xiaoyun Qu
Xiaoyuan used the funding from her teacher’s grant to print out the physical copies of her students’ handcrafted books, with the most exemplary groups receiving a hardcover copy of their work. The jump in engagement was almost instant. Students felt an immense amount of pride in their work once they were able to hold a physical copy, separating this project from the standard paper or slideshow. One student even said, “This is the first time I’ve ever written a real book!” Students who were previously disengaged with the class curriculum were now excited to learn more and improve their books.
“My daughter was so proud to see her name on the cover. She insisted on reading the entire book aloud to our family after dinner.”
– A parent of one of the students
This project reaffirmed for Xiaoyuan that engaging in project-based learning is a powerful tool for deepening students’ understanding of classroom content. Already, Xiaoyuan’s cohort of teachers in the dual language immersion program is considering similar lesson plans that allow students to self-publish their own works. With a focus on student-centered projects, she wants to work with teachers throughout her school to create interdisciplinary lesson plans to engage students through digital publishing. Xiaoyuan is also exploring hosting a “History Author Night” for students to share their books with friends and family.
